As engineers, we often keep our head down, working hard to finish projects. It’s easy to lose track of what is happening in the world, let alone other industries, especially in human resources. 

In my last two columns, I discussed the business case for why one-on-one meetings are the single best management tactic to improve retention and results, proving the benefits through numerous sources of data. But what does a good one-on-one look like?

Last month, I presented information about challenges companies face to retain and develop their employees.

The U.S. is seeing about 10,000 baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) retire per day. That means every day we lose knowledge from our industry due to retirements. The fact that so much of the construction industry is experience- or knowledge-based work makes this fact especially sobering, but the challenges don’t end there.